It certainly has been a strange summer! I know that my farmer is struggling to meet her CSA expectations with the weather being so cool. Hopefully we will be blessed with a very long Indian Summer to make up for it!
Thanks to all who attended the May 30th Growing Connections Conference in Southgate and featuring Sally Fallon-Morrell. A special thanks to the vendors and farmers who make the events so terrific. I had the pleasure of hosting Sally while she was in town and I can share with you that she is very impressed with the work that Healthy Traditions Network is doing and the educational opportunities we present.
Speaking of which, the next one will be our big event at Kensington Metropark in Milford on September 12th. This will be our 10th Growing Connections Conference and Organic Harvest Festival. We have a fantastic lineup of speakers, starting with an encore presentation by herbalist Jim McDonald followed by Dr. Anne Sergeant on “How to Eat Healthy without costing an Arm and a Leg”. Lunch will once again be deliciously presented by Pure Foods 2 U. Pre-orders are highly suggested even if you are only planning on attending the market portion of the day. The afternoon session will also feature an encore presentation by Dr. Steve Fischer on “Slaying the Cholesterol Monster”. Dr. Fischer’s presentation was so well received at our March Friday Night Live and we continue to get so many questions about the subject, we decided to repeat it. Finishing up the day will be Leadership Team member Kelly Genzlinger presenting, “Sugar…. Stop the Addictions.” Space is limited as we are only using the classroom this year, so please don’t delay in signing up at www.htnetwork.org.
There is room for your ad in our Growing Connections program book, rates are very reasonable. There will be special sections titled Practitioners and Resource Guide. This program will have shelf life as attendees will want to hold on to it for future reference. Please contact Joan at 248-828-8494 to place your ad by August 25th.
Billed as Michigan’s Biggest One Day Organic Farmers Market, this year’s market tent is shaping up to be a great one. Several new farmers and vendors will be joining us. If you know of a vendor or farmer that fits the WAPF model, please feel free to pass their contact information on to us. We will contact them to see if they would like to take advantage of this great opportunity to grow their business. We could use a dozen volunteers for this event, so please consider giving us three hours of your time.
I’m happy to report that the Secretary of Agriculture visited our state in July to hear from Michiganders their thoughts on NAIS as well as other House bills that are threatening our food supplies. Though most received notice last minute, well over 300 people attended! One quotable came from the secretary who said, “ Every family needs a farmer”. Let’s hope he truly means it!
Many of you responded to the many emails recently received urging you to call your representative about HR 2749 the Food Safety Bill. I can tell you that your calls definitively make a difference. When I called Representative Gary Peters, I spoke as the Director of HTN. Several hours later we received a call at the office asking me to call them back for more clarification. When they spoke with me the second time they said they had been getting many calls on the subject all afternoon! I know that was you guys! And you did make a difference, because I didn’t leave a call back number and they had to find the phone number to HTN on their own. So remember the little guy can make a difference, just pick up the phone and call!
Speaking of government, there is some fear that there may be a push on to make swine flu vaccine mandatory. I strongly suggest you watch this short clip on the subject
http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/June-2009/Swine-Flu-Vaccine--Will-We-Have-A-Choice--by-Barba.aspx
Finally please join me in congratulating Leadership Team member Lisa and her husband Jay Imerman on the birth of their 4th child, Elliott. Elliott is the ideal picture of a WAPF baby!
